It's not all gold that glitters. Sometimes it's silver!

Hello my friends,

Indeed it is not all gold that glitters. Thank god for that, by the way. Too much gold or gilt easily makes an interior look kitsch or tacky. So let's be careful for the Midas touch. :-) 

The Dutch Renaissance style andirons you can see here that I have made out of bits and bobs were painted in a colour called gun metal grey. This was never the intended finish. 

 In the picture above you can see that I first tried silver paint. The result on the left is more silvery than the gun metal paint on the right... but not something to be thrilled about. Ofcourse there are different types and brands of silver paint. And one will be better and look more silvery than the other. But this colour rather looks like pewter, or even zinc. But not nearly like silver!

So what glitters here is, as you can already see my friends, not gold but silver as the title of the post already suggests. So not wanting to use silver paint, I tried another type of "silvering". Silver metal leaf to be precise. Just like the gold metal 

First I painted the rests for the firewood black. This part is made of blackened iron. The ornamental front pilllars were first coated in sise. When that had dried sticky  it was time to add the leaf metal. 

And while I was busy I also prepared the brass mirror frames of the standing and the hanging mirrors intended for the dressin groom and the little whig powdering room. In the picture above you can see the wet sise obscuring the small details of the garlands hanging off this frame. Too thick you may think. But it dries up very thin. Revealing all details that are now obscured. 

This picture shows you the halfway point where the silver leaf comes on but still has to be brushed into every little nook and cranny of the design. When all is fully dry and fixed I used a stif brush to remove the excess bits of silver. Et voila!

And after a well spent rainy afternoon, we have 4 silvered items. I love the way they look. To me it proves that it does not  have to be gold to look rich and elegant. 

Well, that's it for now. Next week I will show you the latest additions to hang on the wall of Huis ter Swinnendael.

Huibrecht 

Does David's bum look big in this?

Hello my dear friends. Almost a month has passed since my haloween post. Time flies! And I had little time to spend on miniatures. But not all time has gone to waste. As the pictures above and below show I made a small dummy board to stand in the opening of a fireplace. 

Not so long ago people thought that dummyboards were a decorative type of firescreen. Used to protect the people in the room from the heat of the fire.  But a screen made of wood, paper, cloth and paint is not built to resist heat of a roaring fire. And it won't resist the flames, at least not for long.  So now the shared opninion is that surviving dummyboards (In France, Brittain and Holland at least) were used as summer hearths. Concealing the fireplace in a decorative way in the summermonths when they were not in use. By the mid 18th century they largely went out of use, but a country house like Huis ter Swinnendael is one of those places where these antiquated things seem to linger. Often dummy boards represent children, seated women like personifications of virtues. Here it is Cupid riding on the back of a dolphin. And his name is not David. ;-) 

As you may know we have moved to live in Spijkenisse for the duration of the building of our 1:1 house. It will take at least a year before we move into it so there is plenty of time to settle in. So when I learned that Spijkenisse has its own bi-annual dollhouse fair I had no reason nor an excuse not to go there.

So last Sunday I visited the fair and had a great time. It was the first time I went to this fair. It was smaller than in Arnhem and more shops than miniaturists but a great source for materials. As you can see I bought several wooden beads, supple burgundy coloured goats leather, glue, a plate miniature of a sugar caster and some resin moulds. Another great find was 2 sheets of mirror plastic.

That same week I received some brass stampings that I had ordered via Etsy. Three metal plaques that I will turn into black metal fire backs, just like the one I made earlier with a little copper plaque depicting either 'Harvest' or 'Autumn' or the goddes 'Ceres'. The new plaques show from left to right, a very well dressed Sheppardess, Diana laying an arrow on her bow, and a crest with a motto Ican't quite decipher. :-)

Together with these placques I bought two little frames and a few more stampings for which I will find a use soon enough. The little Rococo frame is turned into a standing mirror for a dressingtable. The other frame is decorated with a burning torch and a quiver full of arrows at the bottom. An oak branch and an olive branch on the sides and crowned by two birds. Symbols of death, valor, bravery and love. It is a frame meant to be filled by a hero. I will use it for a portrait of one of the male Zonneschuts who died in a war.

This week we were fortunate enough to have nothing on our social calendar. Not to be rude or unkind, but it was the first weekend we had to ourselves in eight weeks. So I enjoyed a sunday for miniature making. I chose simple tasks to get some things ready before starting on something new again. First order of the day was making two mirrors. The first is the standing rococo frame I have just bought, the second one is in a little frame I showed you in a blogpost a few months ago.

I cut out a cardboard backing for both of the frames and used those as templates for the mirror plastic. After cutting them out I layed the back of the standing mirror on the red goats leather I have bought. The dark red has a nice contrast with the golden colour of the frame.  

For the standing mirror I also cut out a backleg so the mirror can stand. For that I simply cut off the end of a coffeestick. I decorated it in the same way as the back of the mirror. The goats leather is so thin and supple that it is easy to work with. Smoothing it over edges withoud folds remaining was surprisingly easy. And lastly I carefully added the mirrorplastic. 

After all, They should reflect something if I want to call them mirrors... So here in the last pic you can see the end result. Two mirrors mirroring a porcelain bird and David's ass. ;-)

Thats it for now! I hope you have enjoyed reading this little post. I look forward to your comments and I hope to be back soon with progress on the marquetry chest that is nearly finished.

Huibrecht

In front of the looking glass...

Those who have read the adventures of Alice will know... Weird things go on behind the looking glass. better stay in front of that thing...

Hello my friends, In this post I would like to share some of the miniatures that I have acquired from several sources. On the one hand it is great to find some great pieces that fit in my huis ter Swinnendael. On the other hand it is a stark reminder that I really need to start building. But soon there is progress to report on that account. :-)

First the looking glass

I love mirrors. And in miniature you can find lovely examples. From small and elegant to grand and ornate. This one from John Hodgson is cast in pewter. It is an elegant Georgian design. Contemporary with and similar to the Rococo mirrors on the continent. I found it on Etsy for a very reasonable price. The costs for postage from the US and customs almost doubled that so in the end could just have bought a new one from John Hodgson himself. ;-O

But I am still very happy with this mirror. It fits the Alison Davies fireplace that I marbled in the workshop of Simone van Kasbergen. A workshop she gives again prior to the Arnhem Dollshouseshow in september. I wholeheartedly can recommend it.

Lets stick with the shiny stuf.

Here you see a cast copper finial of the lid of a glass sugarbowl that had broken to pieces. The owner wanted to throw it all out when I asked If I could have the finial. She graciously gave it to me. Perhaps the fact that I did not break it helped a lot. :-) Years of cleaning rubbed off the silverplate in some places. I can have that replated someday. In style it is baroque rather than Rococo so it can pass as a Marot piece. Although it is a bit rough the shape and size are alright for 1:12. It could be a silver urn, a potpouri container or a silver teacaddy.

Not rough but delicate are the silver chocolate pot (above) and the ceremonial or dress sword (below). Both pieces are made by Jens Torp. I acquired them from the collection of Elly. Hot chocolate was still a very fashionable drink. And. Such an elegant container is just right for Lijsbeth Zonneschut when she craves for a cup of hot chocolate on a chilly winter morning. When the view on the gardens outside show little more than pale greys and frosty greens.

The Z of Zorro... I mean Zonneschut!

The dress sword or rapier by Jens Torp needs a sheath or scabbard to hold it. Thanks to Ilona from Minimumloon I now have an adress to source very fine leather. Once I have it I will make it. The steel sword with the silver handle is quite the ceremonial weapon for nobles and courtiers to wear up and into the 18th century. This fine example may be used by Carel Polyander when he was still in grace with the powers that be and Prince William V still had a court in The Hague.

A smoking gun.

Well perhaps not smoking... I bought this gun together with the mirror. I don't know who the maker is but it is nicely made. As opposed to the dress sword this single barrel is meant to be used. The park and farmlan of the Swinnendael estate is also used for the hunt. I plan to put a gun cupboard in the Rentmeesterskamer (Stewards room) and this is the first occupant. If I can find the correct hollow steel tube I want to try to make more rifles.

The hunter or the hunted?

And speaking of a hunt. The game and birds on the estate are not just there for show. So these pheasants and mallard are the result of the latest hunt. I bought these (Together with the Escutceon desk) also from Elly's collection. The birds have real eathers ont them. They will either go into the kitchen or the larder. Haven't decided on that yet. The scene in Huis Ter Swinnendael will be set in early summer. So having pheasants hung from the ceiling is not very logical but there it is. I still like them a lot.

Well thats it for now. No Wonderland behind the looking glass but som lovely miniatures in front of it. A little mini wonderland in the making. ;-0

I hope that you like this post and my new treasures. I wish you all good luck with your own projects! 

Till next time.

Huibrecht